Alan Sugar - The CV

PAN BOOKS

Lord Sugar Curriculum Vitae

Alan Michael Sugar Born 24th March 1947

1957 (aged 10)

• Asked by headmaster Mr Kershaw of Northwold Road Primary School (Clapton) to host parents and visiting dignitaries and talk them through an Open Day display of pupils work.

1957 1958: Enterprise activities

• Collected empty Lemonade, Tizer and Cola bottles and redeemed the 1d deposit per bottle from the local sweet shop.

• Built a replica Guy Fawkes and collected pennies for the guy. Used proceeds to buy fireworks for Bonfire Night party at nearby ex-bomb-site.

1959 1963: Schooling

• Having spotted me during the Northwold Road school Open Day in 1957 (), headmaster Mr Harris of Joseph Priestley School in Hackney convinced my parents to send me to his school, which was soon to be merged with Upton House School to form an advanced comprehensive, Brooke House School in Clapton.

• 1960 Persuaded deputy headmaster to invest in a printing machine in order to publish monthly school magazine. Printed magazines and sold them to the parents of pupils in local council flat estates.

• 1962 Member of a 5-man Senior Science Society charged with distributing to students the news on breakthroughs in science.

• 1962 Given small part as Curio in school production of Shakespeares Twelfth Night (having been upstaged at audition for the lead rle of Orsino), Performed in this play to parents and visiting dignitaries in school theatre (largest flagship theatre in the borough).

• 1962 Completed and passed GCE O Levels in Engineering, Technical Drawing, Chemistry, Physics, History (1763-1914), Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.

1959 1963: Enterprise activities

• Carried out a newspaper round Mondays to Fridays delivering to local council estate.

• Worked in a greengrocers shop on Saturdays. Pre-boiled beetroots for sale and prepared front-of-shop and potato displays.

• Recognised a better use for empty drinks bottles by making and selling my own ginger beer (using a ginger beer plant given to me by a neighbour).

1963 1967: Early career

• 1963 Failed the aptitude test to be a trainee programmer at both IBM Wigmore St and ICL Putney.

• 1963 Left school (against headmasters wishes) to join the Ministry of Education and Science (in Curzon Street) as a Clerical Officer in the statistics department. Worked on the Plowden Report on Junior Education, coding survey sheets to IBM punch cards.

• 1963 Opened my first bank account with Lloyds Bank in Berkley Square. The Ministry moved from Curzon Street to Richmond Terrace (opposite Downing Street) where I worked for 6 months.

• 1964 Passed my driving test and sought a job that came with wheels. Joined Robuck Electrical (owner Mr Sam Korobuck) manufacturers of Tape recorders and record players as a sales rep for the London area calling on radio and TV shops. Became top salesman within 6 months and asked for the same rate of commission on sales I made to small retailers as on sales to the Currys chain group. This was turned down and I resigned on principle.

• Joined R Henson & Co., an electrical wholesaler, where I sold the goods and, in some cases, identified and bought the goods, delivered them and collected the money.

1967 1980:

• 1967 I attained skills, first hand, in bookkeeping and accounting, credit control, banking systems, import and export requirements, lorry loading, electronic design and engineering, running production lines, purchasing, advertising, setting up factories and hiring staff. I suffered the pains of small-business cash flow and bad debts, thereby gaining a greater understanding of the lack of honesty and integrity of those I met and dealt with. I learnt that honesty, integrity (particularly with the bank) and being straightforward (even if sometimes a little too bluntly) is the best policy in business.

• 1967 Trading from my parents flat in Hackney, I observed an opportunity to acquire, from Radio and TV dealers, second-hand TV sets taken by them in part-exchange for new TVs. I stored the second-hand TVs in my makeshift darkroom and engaged my friend, a TV engineer, to fix them where necessary. Once fixed, I advertised them in Exchange & Mart and sold them, one by one, from my bedroom. As my mother was not happy having strange people coming and going from the flat, I invested in my first business premises a store room in Rushmore Road Clapton. I contacted my old boss Sam Korobuck and bought from him returned faulty record players, which were also stored at Rushmore Road. My friend repaired these too so that they were fit for sale.

• 1968 On 8th December 1968, formed the limited company A.M.S. Trading (General Importers) Ltd. I stored my stock in trade at home, but had it stolen during a break-in. This made me decide to take my first commercial premises: 388 St Johns Street, Clerkenwell in London. My first employee (who looked after the office and answered the calls) was my father, whom I paid 20 per week. Previously he had spent a lifetime in uncertain employment in East London garment factories his average pay at the time was 13 per week.

• 1970 Invested in injection moulding tool to make record player dust covers for the then hi-fi audio boom. Was previously wholesaling them at 21 shillings (the cost to me was 18 shillings from a vacuum forming company). My method of injection moulding would give me a finished part cost of 4 shillings enabling me to sell them for 16 shillings, making a 400% margin and undercutting the vacuum former. Thus I started to make real money. Observed that the stereo amplifiers market was a growing market.

• 1972 Opened my first factory with 15 employees at Great Sutton Street, Clerkenwell. Changed the name of company to A.M.S. Trading (Amstrad) Ltd., producing stereo amplifiers under the Amstrad brand. Employed my ex-employer Sam Korobuck to run the production line as his company Robuk had gone bankrupt.

• 1973 Moved to bigger factory at Ridley Road, Dalston to make full range of amplifiers, tuners and loudspeakers.

• 1975 Moved again to larger factory at Garman Road, Tottenham. Started to import tape decks and was first company to enter the CB (Citizens Band) radio market.

• 1976 Qualified as a Private Airplane Pilot in both practical and written examinations.

• 1977 Bought the cabinet making company Fircastle Ltd from the liquidator. The company (renamed Amstrad) in Southend Essex, was bought with all plant and machinery to expand loudspeaker production.

• 1979 Moved to larger cabinet works at Eastwood Industrial Estate, Southend to produce Amstrad stereo tower system rack units. Turned down a bid from Laskys who offered me 2m to acquire 75% of the company. Met with Kleinwort Benson to discuss the possibility of floating the company to the London Stock Exchange.

1979 1990:

• Gained experience of City meetings, the production of prospectuses and circulars to share holders, corporate governance and yellow book requirements, stock market analysts meetings, litigation, television advertising, accepting hospitality to lunches and dinners with the Prime Minster, Prince of Wales, her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip. Gained experience of dealing with the media, charitable work, the importance of liability insurance, employment liability laws, the need for protection of patents and intellectual property. Entered the Real Estate market.

• 1979 Engaged with Kleinwort Benson, Touche Ross and Herbert Smith, gaining first hand experience in numerous drafting meetings regarding the flotation of the company.